Communications Blog

8-5 Week In Review

This week was the primary election, and Democrats had great results across the state. We’re so fired up about the momentum we have going into the November general election and the 2018 midterms.

In the critical 45th district state Senate race, progressive Manka Dhingra and conservative Jinyoung Englund emerged as the top two candidates -- but Manka won big, 51%-42%, putting her in a fantastic position to win this race in the general election.

And in districts across the state -- like the 31st in South King and Pierce Counties and the 7th in far northeast Washington -- our candidates Michelle Rylands, Karen Hardy, Nate Lowry, and Susan Swanson all surpassed our expectations and did better than Democrats have in these districts in years. Democrats aren’t writing off any district anywhere in the state, and we’ve got Republicans on the run and spending beaucoup bucks to shore up what they thought were going to be safe seats.

We still have a lot of work to do before November to deliver wins in the general election and retake our state Senate – but these results prove that we’re on track. We’re fired up and ready to work hard all the way across the finish line for these great candidates!

Tour of Washington Wrapping Up

We had a great time on Tina’s tour of Washington this week. It’s important that we as a party go out to physically meet people where they are and have face-to-face conversations about the issues affecting their lives and what we can do about the challenges we face.

At our Wenatchee town hall, we had 100 people fired up and excited to talk about issues like climate change, health care, and holding Rep. Dave Reichert accountable for his continued refusal to hold a town hall meeting to speak with constituents himself.

We met with Democrats and Indivisible groups in Winthrop, Twisp, and Republic, and kicked off canvasses in Vancouver, Goldendale, Wenatchee, and more. We had the chance to watch primary election results drop in Republic with 7th LD candidates Karen Hardy and Susan Swanson, at what was almost certainly the largest gathering of Democrats in the history of the city of Republic.

Our last big event was a town hall in Spokane. We were particularly inspired by the young people who came with enthusiasm, energy, and smart questions and thoughts. Young people are the future of our party and our politics, and I’m excited to have them stepping up to get involved. It’s important that we elevate their leadership and listen to their voices as we build our movement across this state.

One thing I noticed all throughout the tour was this smoky haze that’s descended on Washington from the fires in Canada. Washington’s wildfire season is starting as well, and we’re all going to be at more risk because of the Senate Republicans’ refusal to act on a capital budget that includes millions of dollars for forest fire suppression. These fires and this smoke just shows the importance of Democratic leadership – so we can act on issues like global climate change and having a responsible government that passes the nuts and bolts basics like a capital budget and fire protections that we all count on to keep safe.

Democrats Are a Pro-Choice Party

In case you were wondering:

You might have heard that the DCCC is exploring supporting anti-choice Democratic candidates for Congress in some races. It’s important to note that the DCCC is a completely separate organization from the DNC or the Washington State Democratic Party, and we’re committed to only supporting pro-choice candidates for Congress.

Democrats are launching a national day of action in two weeks on Saturday August 19th – we’re planning on knocking millions of doors across the country, and that starts with a strong showing here in Washington state. We’ve got great momentum coming out of the primary election, but we need to keep it up all the way through November and into next year’s midterm elections.

WA Democrats Latest Posts

Once again, WA State is leading the way! Governor Jay Inslee just signed into law automatic voter registration, Election Day registration, pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds, and the state Voting Rights Act. It's a good day for Democracy.